A Terrible Loss
by Jennifer-0522
Summary: Chapter four is FINALLY up!
1. Chapter 1

"Take care of Naoko and Hoshi for me." Rika smiled slightly, looking up at her husband. 

Ryo couldn't say anything. He just stood there looking at his dieing wife.

He closed his eyes, hopping this was a dream, no, a nightmare.

"Rika, please. Please don't leave me. Don't leave Hoshi or Naoko either. Please, Rika. Don't die. Please…" Ryo opened his eyes, and his wife's eyes were closed, and her heart monitor wasn't beeping anymore. It was just… going off in one long beep.  
His wife… was now dead.

Ryo had tried really hard not to let a tear fall, but he failed and it ran down his cheek, followed by another.

The nurse and the doctor walked in.

"8:38pm." the doctor whispered, looking at the clock, and then at Rika.

The nurse walked over to Ryo and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sir… I'm really sorry about your wife, but there was nothing anyone could do. I'm very sorry." the doctor said, walking over to the bed Rika was laying on and covered her from the shoulders up with the blanket.

Ryo didn't say anything. He just stood there, looking at his blanket covered, dead wife.

Ryo let one more tear out before walking over to the door, and leaving.

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When Ryo pulled in the drive way, he saw Rika and his kids, sitting on the porch.

How was he going to tell them that their mother was dead?

He couldn't it would hurt Hoshi and break Naoko's heart.

When the two children saw their father's car, they both stood up and waited for him to park, turn off the car, and get out.

When he did get out, Hoshi ran over to her father and asked, "Daddy, where's mommy? I thought that you were going to bring her home from the hospital today."

Ryo looked down at his five year old daughter. And then over at his eight year old son, who was standing on the porch.

"Sweetheart, I-I have to tell you and your brother something." Ryo said. "Naoko, come here for a minute."

Naoko heard his father and walked over to where his little sister and his father stood.

"What's up, dad? Where's mom?" the eight year old boy asked.

Ryo sighed. I best get this over with, he thought.

"Hoshi, Naoko, your mother… She isn't coming home… Ever. She died earlier." Ryo looked the saddest he'd ever looked.

"Dad, come on, stop joking. Where's mom?" Naoko asked, not wanting to believe that his mother was gone.

"Naoko… I'm so sorry. I know how close you were to your mother." Ryo said.

Naoko let out a tear. "Dad… I HATE YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY TO SAVE HER!…. Why?…." the eight year old started to cry silently.

Hoshi looked from her brother to her father. She was only five, and didn't really understand what was going on, or what had happened to her mother.

"Daddy? Why is Naoko crying? And where's mommy?" she asked, looking very much confused.

Ryo pulled her into a tight hug, along with Naoko.

"Hoshi, I'll tell you later, ok?" Ryo said.

"But-" Hoshi began, but was cut off by her brother. "Hoshi! Dad said he'd tell you later"  
After that, Hoshi fell silent and let her father hold her tightly.

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After awhile, Ryo let go of his children, and said that they could go out for dinner.

"Can we go to Burger King, daddy? Pleaseeeeeee?" Hoshi asked, with a very innocent and pleading look on her face.

Ryo laughed slightly and nodded. "Sure. Is burger king alright with you Naoko?"

Naoko smiled and nodded.

"Well then… Burger king it is." Ryo said.

Hoshi bounced up and down with excitement.

Naoko stayed silent and Ryo watched his daughter bounce up and down.

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When they got to Burger King, Ryo parked his car and got out, as did Naoko. Hoshi was having trouble un doing her seat belt, so it took her a minute to get out.

When the three were out of the car, they walked inside.

As the three came inside, they saw that it was nearly empty.  
As Ryo walked over to order their food, which he already knew what Hoshi and Naoko wanted, because they came to Burger King almost every night.

Hoshi looked around and saw someone she knew. She smiled and ran over to where a man, with light brown hair and a woman with reddish brown hair were sitting.

When Hoshi got over to them, she stood where they could see her.

They looked at her and smiled.

"Well, look who it is. How's it going, little miss Akiyama?" asked the man.

Hoshi smiled. "Fine, Uncle Takato!"

She walked around and stood by him. She held out her arms, waiting for him to hug her or pick her up.

Takato laughed and then picked up the five year old girl.

Naoko walked over a few seconds later with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, Naoko! How's it going?" Takato asked him, only to get a shrug out of the eight year old.

Takato frowned and looked over at Jeri. She looked back and smiled slightly.

"Is your mother alright?" Jeri asked, in a quiet tone.

Naoko looked at Jeri and shook his head.

"She died earlier. So I'd say she's not doing fine at all." Naoko snapped.

Jeri looked away from the young boy and then stood up, obviously very hurt. She then walked outside, where they play set was, and where her children were playing.

Takato looked at Jeri and then over at Naoko. He was staring at the floor.

Takato was about to say something when Hoshi cut him off. "That wasn't very nice of you, Naoko. You snapped at Aunt Jeri, and she just asked you a question. Go say sorry to her."

Naoko looked at his sister. She was sitting on his mother's friends lap.  
She was calling their mother's friend, Uncle. He hated that. He hated seeing Takato and Jeri, and even Jeri and Takato's kids.

Naoko looked from his sister to Takato, changing his expression from a blank look to pure disgusted.

Takato looked at him. "I'm sorry, Naoko. I know how close your mother was to you."

Naoko snapped. "How would you know? You've only been in America for less then a year! That's not long enough to tell how close I was to MY mother!" Naoko nearly yelled at Takato. He looked at his sister and then ran off to the car.

Hoshi looked down at the floor.  
"Uncle Takato, I'm sorry."

Takato looked down at Hoshi.  
"Why are you saying sorry? You didn't do anything, Hoshi."

Hoshi looked up at him and nodded. "Yes, I did. Naoko… told me on the way here, that if we saw you, to not call you uncle. And I did it anyways."

Takato hugged Hoshi.  
"It's not your fault, Hoshi. It's just the way your brother is, its just the way he is. Always wanting something, and then when he sees that he can't have it he gets mad and runs off."

Hoshi smiled. She was going to say something when someone cut her off.

"He's just like Rika in a way. I mean with his bad attitude and stuff. He's got her attitude for sure. And I don't know if that's a bad thing, or a good thing."

Hoshi looked up and saw her father standing next to Takato.

"Ryo… Long time no see." Takato said, smiling.

Ryo smiled also and sat down across from Takato.

Hoshi smiled and got down off of Takato's lap and walked around the table and over to her father.

She held out her arms, wanting her father to pick her up.

He did and kissed her on the forehead.

"Eww. Daddy kisses!" she said, while giggling.

Ryo smiled. "So the little star doesn't like her daddy kissing her, does she? Well then… I guess that someone won't get to play on the play set outside today." Ryo was only joking, but his daughter believed every word he said.

"Daddy! I didn't mean it! I was just playing! I'm sorry, so can I please play on the play set?" Hoshi looked at him with pleading eyes.

Ryo smiled and kissed her on the forehead again. "I was only joking, Hoshi. You can go play after you eat, ok?"

Hoshi looked at him with confusion on her face. "Why after dinner? Why not right now?"

"Because, I said to wait until after dinner. And you know that if I let you go out and play now, you won't come back in to eat."

Hoshi wrinkled her nose and laid her head down on the table.

Ryo looked over at Takato who was smiling, and trying not to laugh. This made Ryo smile.

"Hey Takato, after everyone's finished eating, you want to catch up? I mean, I haven't seen you for a few months, and just thought that it'd be nice to talk about everything. Just You, Jeri, and me." Ryo said.

Takato nodded, still smiling.

Hoshi looked up and sighed.  
"Daddy, I'm hungry. Can't these people hurry up?"

Ryo laughed. "I think that they're going as fast as they can, sweetie."

Hoshi sighed again, and then decided to go cheek on her older brother.

She climbed off her father's lap and walked over to the door they had come in from, and then walked over to their car.

Naoko was sitting on the side walk.  
He had his head down and his hands were still in his pockets.

Hoshi walked over to him and sat down.

"Is everything ok, Nii-chan?" she asked.

He looked up and over at her.  
"Hoshi, for once in you life, SHUT UP! Stop asking questions, and just leave everyone alone! And just so you know, EVERYONE hates when you ask questions. You're so stupid." Naoko said, out of anger of his mother dieing.

Hoshi looked at her brother, eyes widening.

"Do… I….I'm sorry." she said.

"Well to bad, cause, I'm not talking to you ever again, until you can stop asking so many questions." Naoko said, standing up and going back inside.

When Naoko was all the way inside, she began to cry. Her brother had never said something like that to her.

She knew that she asked questions, but it was only because she wanted to know. She couldn't help it if she wasn't as fast as the other people she knew.

"Don't cry, Miss. Hoshi." an unfamiliar voice said.

Hoshi looked around and saw no one.

"W-w-who are you? Where are you?" she asked.

"I, am no one and some one at the same time. I am here, and there, and every where. I cannot tell you anything more." the voice sounded slightly closer.

"Uh… Ok, how do you know my name, and…do you want to be my friend?" she asked, looking around some more.

The voice laughed. "Didn't your mother and father ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"

Hoshi nodded. "Yeah, but you don't seem like a stranger. You sound like some one who'd be a great friend."

The voice suddenly stopped laughing.

"Miss Hoshi, I shall be your friend, but… You cannot tell anyone about me or anything. I shall protect you but only for a few years. Is this understood?"

Hoshi nodded and stood up.

"Good, now go back inside."

She dusted gravel off of the back of her dress and headed back inside.

A/N: I hope ya'll liked it...theres more to come


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I totally just noticed something. Naoko is a girls name O.O I totally didn't mean for it to be a girls name. I thought it was a boy name O.O….sorry about that…V.V But anyways…bear with me guys. Naoko is a boy. And if you guys don't like that a girls name is used for a boy, I'm changing his name in this chapter . I'm changing his name to: Ryoichi. I looked it up, and it SAID it means first son of Ryo. And also… Cookies (whichever kind you like) goes out to anyone who can figure out who/what the voice is. And…now here's the 2nd chapter. 

PS. There's another A/N at the bottom .

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Hoshi walked to the door. She was about to go in, when the voice said, "How are you going to explain your red and puffy eyes to them?"

"I… I'm not going to tell on Ryoichi. If I told on him, he'd get even more mad. So…" Hoshi said.

She looked around and it came to her. She would run up and down the side walk, until she fell and scraped her knees. It would hurt, yes, but it was better then saying her brother had yelled at her.

Hoshi took a deep breath and began running.

As she ran she thought about what he brother had said.

"Hoshi, for once in you life, SHUT UP! Stop asking questions, and just leave everyone alone! And just so you know, EVERYONE hates when you ask questions. You're so stupid."

Ryoichi had said that. And it had hurt Hoshi's feelings. He had never yelled at her or said anything that mean to her before.

Hoshi knew it was because of their mother. She knew now that she was dead. That her mother wasn't coming back. Ever.

While Hoshi was in the process of running and thinking, she finally tripped.

She whimpered slightly as she hit the hard pavement. She pulled herself up after a minute of laying there.

She looked down at her knees when she had sat up. They were bleeding, but not to bad.

Hoshi smiled slightly at them.  
They would work perfectly. They would help her tell everyone that she had fallen.

Hoshi stood up slowly and limped inside.

She limped over to where Takato and her father were sitting. And now Ryoichi, Jeri, Kiyoshi, and Haru were sitting there.

Haru and Kiyoshi were Jeri and Takato's kids. Kiyoshi was a fairly quiet child, but Haru on the other hand, was louder then thunder.

Hoshi smiled slightly and limped over to the table.

Haru was the first to notice Hoshi had come in.

"Hoshi? What happened to your knees? Did you trip?" asked the seven year old boy.

Hoshi smiled and nodded.  
She walked around the table and tugged at her father's arm.

Ryo looked down at her and she pointed to her knees.  
Ryo looked over at Jeri. "Jeri, do you have anything that I can clean this with?"

Jeri nodded. "Yeah, but how about I clean it up? I can take Hoshi in the ladies restroom and fix her knees right up." Jeri smiled.

Hoshi walked over to where Jeri was sitting. Jeri stood up, grabbed her purse and walked to the ladies restroom with Hoshi.

As they entered the restroom, Jeri picked up Hoshi and sat her down on the counter, in between two sinks.

Hoshi sat there, kicking her legs slightly as Jeri looked through her purse.

Jeri pulled out a few band aids and sat them down on the counter.

She walked over to the paper towel dispenser and got two paper towels.

She walked back over to Hoshi and smiled.

Jeri wet the paper towels and then started to clean Hoshi's scraped knees. Then Jeri put two band aids over each scrape.

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When Jeri had finished cleaning Hoshi's scrapes, she helped Hoshi off of the counter and they left the ladies restroom and went back to the table.

Hoshi climbed up on her fathers lap and saw that their food was finally there.

"Yes!" Hoshi said, smiling.

Hoshi glanced over at her brother before she began eating.

He was eating slowly and looking at a spot on the table.

Hoshi frowned and began eating her cheese burger and fries.

As she ate, Hoshi thought about the voice she had heard outside. Why hadn't it tried to stop her, when she planed on running, falling and scraping her knees? Could it even read what was going through her mind?

Hoshi didn't know, so she thought she'd try and ask a question-not out loud-to see if the voice answered.

/Hey…uh…. Someone…or is it No one? Or maybe it was Anyone… Oh forget it! Hey voice! Can you hear me? Can you read my mind/ Hoshi thought.

"I can hear you. I can also read you mind. And I know that you are wondering why I didn't try to stop you from scraping your knees. I'm not sure why I didn't stop you. But, if you ever try to hurt yourself like that again, I WILL stop you." the voice said.

Hoshi stopped eating. She looked around, confused.

"What's wrong, Hoshi?" Ryo asked, looking down at his daughter.

Hoshi shook her head. "Nothing's wrong, daddy." She smiled.

Hoshi went back to eating a second later.

/Were you just talking inside of my head? Or… Were you talking outside of it? Cause if you were talking outside of my head, I'm surprised no one heard you./ Hoshi thought giggling slightly.

Ryo looked down at his young daughter.

Ryo put down his cheese burger and felt his daughter's forehead.  
She wasn't hot, but she was acting strange.

Hoshi blinked. "Uh, daddy? What are you doing?"

Ryo shook his head. "Nothing, Hoshi. You've just been acting weird since you got back inside. Are you sure that your ok?"

Hoshi giggled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure that I'm ok, daddy. So don't worry."

Ryo nodded, not sure if his daughter was telling the truth.

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After everyone was finished eating, Jeri took Hoshi, Haru, Ryoichi, and Kiyoshi outside to play on the play set.

Hoshi climbed up the rope ladder and up to one of the towers.

She decided to sit there for a few minutes. /Hey voice? Do you have some name I can call you? 'Cause I think its kind of disrespectful to call some one voice. That just doesn't seem very nice, so do you have a name I can call you/ Hoshi though, as she sat there.

"You may call me, Ai, if you'd like." the voice said.

Hoshi nodded. /Ok. So is Ai you real name? It's cute. Way cuter then my name./

"Ai isn't my real name. It's just something you may call me."

Hoshi blinked. /Wow… She's weird with a capital W./ Hoshi thought. Hoshi nodded in agreement with herself.

"I heard that!" Ai snapped.

Hoshi covered her mouth. "Opps… Sorry, Ai."

Haru crawled over to Hoshi.  
"Who are you talking to?" he asked, making Hoshi jump, because she didn't know he was there.

Hoshi gasped and looked over at him. "Good grief, Haru! You scared the Holy Water out of me!"

Haru looked at her. "Hoshi… Eww"  
Haru backed away from her about a foot.

Hoshi blinked. "Haru, I didn't mean that I like…went to the bathroom! It's an expression! Jeez." Hoshi rolled her eyes.

Haru sat there for a minute, and then said, "Ohhh. I knew that."

Hoshi giggled slightly. "I'm getting sleepy. I think I'm ready to go home."

Haru looked at her. "Aw, but you like, just got here. You can't go yet."

Hoshi crossed her arms. "And why CAN'T I go?"

"Because… I want you to stay. I haven't seen you since Ryoichi's eighth birthday. I really want to play with you. Hoshi, you're my bestest friend in the whole world!" Haru said, smiling. (A/N: hes like...seven...deal with they way he talks...O.O)

Hoshi smiled sweetly. She bit her bottom lip and then did something that she NEVER thought she'd do…

Hoshi kissed Haru on the cheek.

Both kids were blushing madly.

Hoshi pulled away from Haru's cheek and crawled around him, so that she could leave.

When Hoshi had gotten to the end of the tunnel, she turned around and saw that Haru was still sitting there. Hoshi giggled and climbed down the rope ladder. (It was at the end of the tunnel.)

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A/N: Ok like sorry about this chapter being so short. Ok…for those of you who are wondering about things…. I shall explain…

Here are profile thingies.

Name: Hoshi Age: five Gender: female

Name: Ryoichi Age: eight Gender: Male

Name: Ryo Age: 27 Gender: Male

Name: Takato Age: 27 Gender: Male

Name: Jeri Age: 27 Gender: female

That about raps that up…. Uh… next I guess I should explain the whole…. Rika dieing. Well…. I'm not going to, cause it'll be explained in the next chapter. If I should fail at putting why she died in, I'll put it in the A/N… deal? Deal….

Well, I have home work to do, so I'll see you all next chapter

Bye byes


	3. Chapter 3

Hoshi laid in bed, wide awake.  
She laid there and thought about everything that had happened that day. 

Hoshi, Ryoichi, and their father, had gotten home from Burger King a few hours ago, and Hoshi had had a bath and then had to go to bed.

Ryoichi and her father were still awake, but they were in their rooms.

Hoshi laid in the silence and looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Ai? Do you think that if I look hard enough at the ceiling, that I'll see mommy?" Hoshi whispered.

"I don't know. Maybe." Ai replied.

"Ai? Why did my mommy die?" Hoshi asked, keeping her eyes on the ceiling.

"I don't think I'm the right one to ask. Maybe you should go ask your father." Ai said.

Hoshi nodded. She kept looking at the ceiling for a few more minutes, and then got out of bed and slowly walked to her door.

She opened the door slowly and stuck her head out.

She looked down the hall and then headed for her father's room, which was three doors down and to the left.

When she had gotten to he father's bedroom door, she knocked lightly.  
After she heard her father say, 'Come in' she entered, closing the door behind her.

Ryo looked over at her. "What are you doing out of bed? It's way past your bedtime."

Hoshi walked over to his bed and climbed up onto it.

"Daddy, how did mommy die"  
Hoshi asked, looking serious.

Ryo looked at his young daughter. She looked so much like Rika. Well… except for her hair. Her hair was the same color as his. But her eyes and facial expressions were just like Rika's at times.

"Hoshi, I'll tell you later, ok?" Ryo looked away from his daughter.

"Daddy. I want to know now. Not later, not in the morning, and not when I'm older. Now." Hoshi looked up at her father.

Ryo smiled slightly. "Hoshi, I know you want to know what happened to mommy, but… I don't know if I can tell you yet."

Hoshi's expression went from serious to confused. "What do you mean, daddy?"

"It's just that… If I tell you now, there'll be a chance of me crying."

"So? Daddy, you don't have to worry about that whole… guys don't cry thing. It's just me. And I cry ALL the time. So, daddy, please tell me. And if you cry, it'll be ok"  
"Hoshi…" Ryo began, but before he could get on with his sentence, there was another knock at his door.

"Come in." Hoshi and Ryo said in unison.

The door opened and Ryoichi stepped in.

Ryoichi waited for his father to invite him over to join him and Hoshi and when his father finally said that he could join them, Ryoichi ran over to the bed and climbed up onto it.

"Daddy, what were you going to say?" Hoshi asked.

Ryo looked down at Hoshi. She was clinging to his arm.

He smiled at her. "It was nothing. Just forget about it, ok sweet heart?"

Hoshi nodded and then Ryo asked, "Ryoichi, did you need me for something?"

Ryoichi shook his head. "No. I just thought that I'd come in and see what you were doing, but I see that you're busy talking with Hoshi. So I'll just go back to my room."

Ryoichi scooted over to the edge of his father's bed and was about to hop off, when he felt something grab his arm.

He looked back and saw Hoshi holding his right arm with both of her hands.

"Don't go, 'Ichi. If you go, then we can't bond." Hoshi said.  
Ryoichi looked at his sister.  
She was sitting there looking innocent. Looking as if the world hadn't hurt her by taking their mother. It mad him kind of mad. But on the other side, she was only five years old, and didn't understand very much.

"Bond?" Ryo and Ryoichi said in unison.

Hoshi giggled and Ryo laughed.

"Yeah, bond. Mommy told me that bond means to form a close personal relationship. She also told me that she always wanted us all to bond sometime."

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Wow. I never thought that your mother would ever want to bond. And I never thought that you could say such big words."

Hoshi smiled. "I can say big words, cause I'm a big girl."

"Well, Miss Big Girl, you should be asleep."

"Aw, but daddy, big girls get to stay up as late as they want." Hoshi looked up at her father with pleading eyes.

Ryoichi snorted.

Ryo shot a slight glare at his son, before looking down at his young daughter. "Hoshi, you know that your bed time is eight o'clock. And you know that you have to go to school tomorrow. So, I'm sorry, but you have to go to bed."

Hoshi sighed softly. "Can I at least stay up for ten more minutes?"

"Hoshi, no." Ryo said.

"Five more minutes?"

"No."

"Three more minutes?"

"Hoshi, what did I just say?"

"You said no, but how about 1 more minutes?"

"By the time you get back into your room it'll be one more minute."

Ryoichi laughed. "You couldn't even stay up if dad let you. You'd be out like a light in two minutes."

Ryoichi and Ryo looked down at Hoshi, who had curled up into a ball and fallen asleep.

"Wow. Less then 5 seconds." Ryoichi said.

Ryo smiled. "How about you go get ready for bed, Ryoichi, and then I'll be in to tuck you in and check your home work in a few minutes."

"Dad, I'm not five. I don't need you to tuck me in anymore." Ryoichi hopped off the bed and walked out the door, heading to the bathroom.

Ryo smiled slightly. He then picked Hoshi up off his bed and carried her to her room.

He laid her on her bed and tucked her back in (He had already done it once.  
Ryo kissed his young, sleeping daughter on the forehead and then walked to the door.

He was about to turn then light off and leave when he heard her say, "Daddy, 'Ichi's growing up. And tomorrow you half to tell me how mommy died." And having that said, Hoshi fell into a deep sleep.

Ryo smiled. "I know." He looked at his daughter once more, before leaving, turning the light off and shutting the door when he did.

After shutting Hoshi's door, Ryo walked down the hall and walked into Ryoichi's room.

As Ryo entered his son's room, he saw that he was already in bed, and looked like he was asleep.

Ryo smiled. He walked over to his son's bed and leaned over and kissed his son on the forehead.

Ryo walked over to the door, giving one last glance at his son, and leaving, shutting the door behind him.

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A/N: Ok… like I know this is probably a weird place to put an A/N but…anyways… Hooray for suspense! Sorry about that…I had planed on putting it in before now… but… uh… I kind of didn't get to it… So sorry everyone! X). Oh and…you might have noticed that Ryo didn't check Ryoichi's home work… yeah uh… sorry… I'll make up for it. And… Hoshi's calling Ryoichi 'Ichi, because it sounded cute. Bit me if you don't like it. Just pretend that she's calling him Ryoichi. Ok.. I'll go now…

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The next morning Hoshi woke up around nine o'clock. (A.M.)

She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She then stretched and got out of bed.

Remembering that she would find out why her mother died, she ran as fast as she could down the stairs and into the kitchen.

As she entered she slid and hit the wall.

After she hit, there was an slight sound. It sounded kind of like 'Waa haa.'

Ryoichi, who was sitting at the breakfast table laughed. "Nice going there, miss not famous."

Ryo rushed over to his daughter and helped her off the floor. "Are you ok, sweetheart?"

Hoshi groaned slightly and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine, daddy"

Hoshi then walked over to the table and sat down next to her brother.

She looked over at the empty place, where her mother once sat.

Hoshi frowned. "Daddy. Will you please tell me how mommy died now?"

Ryo walked over and sat down a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of milk down in front of Hoshi.

"Yes. I'll tell you know, even though I wish you would wait until after you eat before I tell you."

"Daddy. You're stalling." Hoshi said in a very Rika-ish tone.

Ryo smiled. "Well. Your mom, she was sick. She wasn't just sick, she was very sick. She had lung cancer. The exact name of it was, Diffuse pulmonary lymphangiomatosis. Do you guys remember when your mom would say that she was out of breath all the time?" Ryoichi and Hoshi nodded and Ryo continued.

"Well, that is one of the symptoms. And when she and I went out to visit your grandmother, she got really pale, and she almost stopped breathing. And then I called nine one one. They came and took her to the hospital. And I had to wait for a few hours. And they finally let me go see her. And about ten or so minutes after I had been in the room she was in… She… Died." Ryo let a tear fall from his eye.

Hoshi stood up in her chair and hugged her father. (He was standing next to her.)

Ryo let more tears fall as he hugged his daughter tightly.

Ryoichi, who was almost in tears, got up and walked around the table and hugged his father.

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A/N: I'm going to stop there… Sad…. Very sad…  
Sorry for not having this chapter out earlier… I've been busy with school and… I just got a boy friend :teehee: and so.. I've been busy. Uh. You're all probably wondering about how Rika died… Well…. Uh… I just kind of looked up lung cancer on yahoo and got this one page… And I got that off of there… So uh… Know you all know how she died.

I was trying to make jokes in this chapter... so... If you saw them, and caught them... Ten cookies or points to you! which ever you like more...but the points are really... Kind of like on Whose Line Is It Anyway... If anyone's seen that...

And for those of you who haven't looked at my… page thingy… I shall put it on here as well.

Ok

1: A Terrible Loss is only going to be about five chapters or so. But don't worry, I'll come back with a sequel.

2: The sequel will be placed a short time later then the first one.

3: I plan on making the second one, about... 9 or 10 chapters long.

4: There shall be a sequel after the sequel .

5: I thank all of you for reading/ reviewing A Terrible Loss .  
And now… I'm done... at least for now... I have home work to do, and the next chapter should be up soon! Look forward to it

Jennifer-0522


	4. Chapter 4

Hoshi grunted slightly as she brushed through her longish hair. 

"I wish mommy was here. Then she'd help me." Hoshi grunted again when she hit a tangle.

She huffed out a breath and threw her brush down.

She crossed her arms over her chest and sat down on her bed. She glared at the brush.

"Stupid brush. Stupid hair. Stupid tangles. Stupid…. Mommy." Hoshi said the last word of her sentence quietly.

Tears came to Hoshi's lavender eyes.

She didn't mean the last part. Her mother wasn't stupid. Her mother was her best friend. Her mother made everything better when something was wrong.

She wiped away the tears quickly.

She got up off her bed and picked up her brush. Hoshi then started to gently brush through her hair once again.

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"Hoshi! Hurry, baby doll! We're getting ready to leave!" Ryo yelled from downstairs.

Ryoichi stood there a minute. "I'll be out in the car." And with that, he went out the front door and headed to the car.

As the door shut behind Ryoichi, Hoshi ran down the stairs. She had on a pink dress that was sleeveless. It had on it purple and light blue flowers.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she held out her shoes. "Here, daddy. Can you please help me put them on?"

Ryo shook his head. "Sorry, Hoshi, but we have got to go. Tell your brother to help you put them on, when you get into the car."

Hoshi nodded. "Ok, daddy." She held her arms out, so that he would carry her.

He picked her up and headed to the car.

Ryo bent down slightly and pulled the back door to the car open. He then set Hoshi down in her car seat and buckled her up.

After making sure he had gotten everything, Ryo walked around to the drivers side door and got in.

He shut the door, started up the car, and pulled out of the drive way.

Hoshi handed Ryoichi her shoes. "Here, Ichi. Can you please put them on for me?"

Ryoichi looked over at his sister. "I'm not going to wear your shoes."

Hoshi rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean for you to wear them, I just want you to put them on me."

"Oh. Well, you should have said that then." He reached over and took the white sandals and slipped them onto Hoshi's small feet.

Hoshi smiled after her shoes were on. "Thank you, Ichi."

Ryoichi sat back and mumbled a 'You're welcome'

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Ryo pulled up to the school. He put the car in park and waited for Hoshi and Ryoichi to get out.

Ryoichi leant over and un-did Hoshi's car seat thing and then got out of the car. Hoshi smiled and got out of the car as well.

When they did, Ryo waved goodbye, put the car into drive and drove off to work.

Hoshi took her brother's hand in hers.

Ryoichi looked down at his sister. "What's up with you? You never hold my hand. Nor do I want you to."

Hoshi looked down at the pavement. "Mommy, always let me hold her hand when she took me to school."

Ryoichi looked down at the pavement also. "I'm… Sorry, Hoshi. I yelled at you yesterday, and I shouldn't have. I'm so sorry. Forgive me?"

Hoshi looked up and over at her brother. She smiled. "Yeah, I'll forgive you."

He hugged his sister and then headed off for the kindergarten building.

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Once the two siblings got there, Ryoichi walked Hoshi to her class and then told her to wait for him here when school was over.

She nodded and went inside her classroom and sat down.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: Ok… Chapter four… is FINALLY out! I will start writing on chapter five as soon as possible! Sorry for the longggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg wait!**

**Jenne **


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